Speed is not enough. The first incarnation of the Mazda 3 MPS had plenty of that. With 195kW ready to pour through its front wheels, it set a new land-speed record for an off-the-shelf hot hatch while nudging the boundaries of tractive ability in a way only since exceeded by the Ford Focus RS.
The Focus copes. The MPS did not. All the promise of that 2.3-litre, directly-injected, turbocharged motor was vaporised by stiff, sticky, springy steering. It was awful.
So the fact that the MPS could reach 100km/h in 6.1sec and stay with every German übersaloon flat-out on the autobahn (an amusing trick in itself), counted for little when man and machine were in such disharmony.
Add very low-key looks and the outcome was obvious. Here in the UK at least, the Mazda 3 MPS bombed.
That's a shame. Because for bang-per-buck the MPS was a hard act to beat. Now there's a new one, because the whole Mazda 3 range has been made overwith a new nose, a new interior and a stiffer body structure. Virtually every external body panel is new, too, although you need to see a new Mazda 3 parked next to an old one to be sure.
A stiffer body structure is a very good thing when there are problems to be solved with the steering. But for the MPS, plenty of other details have changed, both visible and hidden.
What follows might seem arcane to the non-enthusiast, but it's vital to the MPS's rehabilitation.
The steering rack has three mountings instead of two, the suspension sub-frames are stronger and the rubber bushes in the suspension are stiffer. The tyres, now with extra-stiff sidewalls, are mounted on hefty 18" rims.
The driveshafts are now designed so each has the same resistance to twisting as the other, which should stop the former tendency to torque steer on sudden acceleration.
The front anti-roll bar's mounting points are nearer to the car's edges, so the bar has more favourable leverage and a more immediate effect. Even if you're not into the niceties of suspension design, you'll sense that the MPS should now steer like a kart.
Inevitably, given the technical explanation, the MPS feels unyielding over bumps but it's not as bad as I expected because the suspension is softer than before.
CRITICISM TAKEN TO HEART
Maybe more supple tyre sidewalls would create a compromise but MPS engineer Shinichi Inata wants to keep the new car's very positive steering feel around the straight-ahead position. It's a point of honour given the previous car's hopelessness there.
Clearly the engineers have taken criticism to heart, and, once the MPS is out on the open road, the success of its reinvention shines through. The engine pulls with great vigour, once past a soft patch when asked to accelerate from low speed, but then it always did.
What's new is the feeling of flow and connectedness when stringing together a series of bends and a sense of precision which reminds you that under a Mazda 3 is a design closely related to the Ford Focus.
SUBTLE MANAGEMENT
For the MPS this does not extend to the "Revoknuckle", a clever device used in the Focus RS's front suspension and the key to allowing the front wheels to steer properly while transmitting vast power.
The MPS does it electronically by reducing the torque sent to the wheels as the steering input increases. The previous MPS I drove did this in first and second gears but, after discovering how wayward it could be on damp freeway onramps in third gear, the engineers applied the system to third as well.
There's also an electronic version of a limited-slip differential, which uses individual front brakes as needed, and it all works subtly enough for you not to feel that you are being electronically over-managed.
All this means the MPS does lack the ultimate physicality and intimacy of the Focus RS but then, so does nearly every other car. And, at R310 000, it's a good deal cheaper.
Rehabilitated? I should say so.
THE RIVALS
Ford Focus ST:
R314 900.
Its 227kW from a 2.5-litre turbo engine is a European record for front-wheel drive. Looks and sounds loud, is riotously entertaining to drive.
Subaru Impreza WRX:
R359 000.
Cult status has worn thin with the new hatchback version but flat-four engine and four-wheel drive are still intriguing. This version has 168kW.
Volkswagen Golf GTI:
R317 300.
The sensible choice. The sixth-generation GTI is more refined and has clever electronic differential but though ultra-capable it's less fun than the previous one.